


Wrong Side of the Bed

by Tarlan



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Angst and Humor, Community: mcsheplets, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-11-17
Updated: 2008-11-17
Packaged: 2017-10-21 20:01:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/229186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes it didn't pay to get out of bed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wrong Side of the Bed

**Author's Note:**

> Written for LJ's **McSheplets** Prompt 32: Bed.

"Damn it!" Rodney yelled as his foot found the corner of a bedroom side table that he could swear he didn't have.

Rodney hopped around on one foot as he tried to hold onto his stubbed toe, only to tangle in the pants he'd carelessly discarded the night before, and he went down hard with a heavy thud. His squeak of fear ended in a whumph as the breath was knocked out of him and his head bounced off the flooring; he spent the next few seconds desperately trying to draw in a breath before he asphyxiated, already seeing pinpoint flashes of stars. Naked arms braced either side of him and he squinted up into worried eyes on an upside-down face that had appeared right above him; green and gold flecks circling the large dark pupil reflected Rodney's own eyes, dark hair still defying the pull of gravity.

"You okay?"

Rodney waved a hand, circling it at the wrist in the hopes that John would understand, his fingers grazing the silky flesh of John's inner arm. John's warm breath exploded against his face in a barely contained laugh, head dipping to press a feather light kiss against Rodney's lips before he could even begin to remonstrate with John over how funny this really wasn't. By the time John pulled back, the rant was long forgotten, all thoughts driven from his mind by the aching perfection of that mouth on his.

"Come on. Let's get you back in bed."

He groaned when John scrabbled around him to grasp his forearm, obviously intending to help lever Rodney up into a sitting up position first. The sight of all that naked flesh with silky black hair curling from neckline along the clavicle and down across the firmly muscled chest was enough to distract Rodney. Tiny nipples peaked out amid the forest of black hair, hardened by the cool night air on naked skin, and Rodney wished he was close enough to lick across the tiny nubs and feel John shudder in pleasure at the tongue-roughened touch.

Instead, he was unprepared when John pulled him up, the movement bringing an explosion of pain and nausea, one hand flying to cradle the back of his aching skull for fear that his head was about to drop off. He didn't seem stop moving until he was tipping forward, head between his now raised knees and bile rising to the back of his throat. He swallowed hard, feeling the burn all the way back down to his stomach.

"Let me see."

Rodney sat still as the warmth of John's body radiated into his cold back, hissing as the probing fingers found the sore spot.

"Geez, Rodney, that's a nasty bump. Maybe we should get you to the Infirmary."

"I think I broke my toe too," he whimpered.

"Maybe I should get Keller to come here."

The thought of Jennifer finding him naked on his bedroom floor with an equally naked John and the scent of sex hanging heavy in the air was enough to make him jerk his head up too fast, the room spinning, his head throbbing, and his stomach finally giving up on trying to hold in the nausea. He didn't even register John rolling him onto his side and rubbing his back in circular movements, only becoming more aware when the warm comfort was lost. From somewhere above and to the left of him he could hear John throwing caution to the wind and calling in a medical emergency. He heard a strange susurration and then felt the covers from his bed drop warmly around him, only then realizing how cold he had been on the floor. Other noises came from above, the familiar shush of cloth over skin as John pulled on clothes as efficiently as possible and the sounds of muffled footsteps and voices just outside the room followed by the door opening, spilling in light from the corridor beyond.

"He fell in the dark, smacked his head on the floor pretty hard."

"Rodney? Can you hear me?" Warm hands touched his face; Jennifer's warm hands. He was never going to live this down.

***

Rodney was too miserable to argue when Jennifer insisted that he had to spent twenty-four hours in the infirmary under observation, feeling too shamefaced to even look her in the eye except for the one time she insisted by shining a light into them. He flinched at the memory but this wasn't his first concussion so, medically, he had known what to expect. What he hadn't expected though was her gentleness in both handling and in the tone of her voice, considering he had once proclaimed to love her, and even tried to court her.

She patted his shoulder gently in a way that reminded him of Carson. "Try to get some sleep, Rodney."

Rodney was almost positive that was not going to happen now that he'd had time to realize what he had done. He distinctly recalled hearing Lorne's voice while he was lying naked on the floor with his clothes scattered around him and his military lover standing half undressed above him. It hurt to think, but there had to be some plausible explanation he could concoct to save John's military career even if it lost Rodney a few more _cool_ points. Not that Rodney had too many of those to begin with.

Yes. He'd blame the latest data burst from Earth. He'd been masturbating to fantasies of...of...Sam. Yes, they'd believe that one because she'd sent him a video feed from her latest experiment on wormhole physics. Yes. He was masturbating to a good...no, a great fantasy and he stumbled out the wrong side of the bed to clean up, tripped and cried out. John just happened to be out for an early morning run in his boxers and t-shirt and passing his door when he heard him cry out.

"Hey," softly. "How are you doing, buddy?"

Rodney forced open his eyes to find John at eye level, elbows folded on the bed beside Rodney's pillow. "I have an explanation..." He told John what he thought was a very plausible reason for the debacle, not stopping even when John raised both eyebrows, lips twitching in a half-hearted attempt not to smile. Eventually, John shushed him.

"It's okay, Rodney. No one's going to say anything."

"But you don't know that. If Landry finds out then he'll recall you, and send you to Leavenworth for ten years before kicking you out of the Air Force, and your family will disown you, you'll become destitute within a month and end up eating leftovers out of trash cans outside of McDonalds."

"McDonalds?" John sighed. "Landry's not going to find out."

"But my idea is a perfectly logical explanation that will hold up in the event--"

"Rodney," John interrupted before leaning in and kissing him gently, effectively stopping the desperate words. "You were naked on the floor beside the bed, and streaked with semen."

"Yes. And my idea takes that into account. Admittedly, it makes me look extremely undignified but what's a little dignity compared to...to..."

John grinned with open affection, eyes twinkling as he leaned in closer. "It was my room."

Rodney stared at him for several long seconds. "So that explains the cabinet on the wrong side of the bed."

END


End file.
